Cesium 137 to strontium 90 ratios in the Atlantic Ocean 1966 through 19721
Ratios of 1 3 7 Cs to 90 Sr are summarized from analyses of a large number of seawater samples collected in and about the Atlantic Ocean from 1966 to 1972 at various depths. Analytical comparisons by the participating laboratories are presented. In open‐ocean surface samples the mean ratio is 1.43,...
| Published in: | Limnology and Oceanography |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1974
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.4319/lo.1974.19.4.0670 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.4319%2Flo.1974.19.4.0670 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1974.19.4.0670 |
| Summary: | Ratios of 1 3 7 Cs to 90 Sr are summarized from analyses of a large number of seawater samples collected in and about the Atlantic Ocean from 1966 to 1972 at various depths. Analytical comparisons by the participating laboratories are presented. In open‐ocean surface samples the mean ratio is 1.43, and in subsurface samples containing no less than 5 dpm 137 Cs per 100 liters the mean is 1.44; in subsurface samples containing less than 5 dpm 1 37 Cs per 100 liters, the mean is 1.64. No trend in this ratio with time can be seen, nor can any systematic difference be seen between North Atlantic, South Atlantic, or Mediterranean samples. Agreement of the various open‐ocean ratios with that predicted in fallout, 1.45, is excellent. In nearshore samples from several different areas however the mean ratio is 1.07. Material balance and other considerations seem to preclude simple selective loss of 197 Cs to the sediments. A number of other processes are available, nearshore, for reducing the 137 Cs: 90 Sr ratio, but it is not now possible to evaluate their relative importance, nor to explain why their action should result in about the same ratio in so many different nearshore environments. |
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